It is too early to know whether North Carolina’s party primaries will have an effect on the races for the presidential nominations, there will be a great number of state and local contests which are very important.
You have to be registered to vote, and the deadline for registering is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19. Go to the Wake County Board of Elections website, www.wakegov.com/elections to find instructions about registering.
You will need to show a picture ID to vote this year – unless you are a registered voter who, for any number of reasons, has not been able to get an ID. Acceptable IDs include a North Carolina valid driver’s license, a valid driver’s license from another state, a VA card with photo, a valid passport, a tribal enrollment card, a non-driving ID card issued by the State of North Carolina, and a United States Military ID card.
If you are or have been registered to vote, you can vote if you file out a form showing why you were not able to get a picture ID. The board of elections website explains the procedure.
If you do not have an ID but are registered to vote, you can ask for an absentee ballot before the end of day Tuesday, March 8.
There will be 10 days of early voting beginning on Thursday, March 3, and ending on Tuesday, March 15. Early voting in Wake Forest will be at the North Wake Regional Center on East Holding Avenue next to the library.
When you go to find out something on the board of elections website, wander around a bit and find the candidate list for the March 15 primary elections. For all three parties, Democratic, Republican and Libertarian, there is also an option to vote for “No Preference.” There are 12 Libertarian candidates including Austin Petersen from Peculiar, Missouri.
